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formidable opponents as the elephant and black rhinoceros; theyare so much more numerous than the latter, that they are morefrequently encountered: hence the casualties.

A buffalo can always be killed with a No. 10 rifle and sixdrachms of powder when charging, if the hunter will only waitcoolly until it is so close that he cannot miss the forehead; butthe same rifle will fail against an African elephant, or a blackrhinoceros, as the horns of the latter animal effectually protectthe brain from a front shot. I have killed some hundreds ofbuffaloes, and, although in many cases they have beenunpleasantly near, the rifle has always won the day. There cannotbe a more convenient size than No. 10 for a double rifle, forlarge game. This will throw a conical projectile of three ounces,with seven drachms of powder. Although a breechloader is aluxury, I would not have more than a pair of such rifles in anexpedition in a wild country, as they would require more care ina damp climate than the servants would be likely to bestow uponthem, and the ammunition would be a great drawback. This shouldbe divided into packets of ten cartridges each, which should berolled up in flannel and hermetically sealed in separate tincanisters. Thus arranged, they would be impervious to damp, andmight be carried conveniently. But I should decidedly providemyself with four double-barrelled muzzle-loading No. 10's as myregular battery; that, if first class, would never get out oforder. Nothing gives such confidence to the gun-bearers as thefact of their rifles being good slayers, and they quickly learnto take a pride in their weapons, and to strive in the race tohand the spare rifles. Dust storms, such as I have constantlywitnessed in Africa, would be terrible enemies to breech-loaders,as the hard sand, by grating in the joints, would wear away themetal, and destroy the exactness of the fittings.

A small handy double rifle, such as my little Fletcher 24, notexceeding eight pounds and a half, is very necessary, as itshould seldom be out of the hand. Such a rifle should be abreech-loader, as the advantage of loading quickly while onhorseback is incalculable. Hunting-knives should be of softsteel, similar to butchers' knives; but one principal knife to beworn daily should be of harder steel, with the back of the bladeroughed and case-hardened like a butcher's steel, for sharpeningother knives when required.

All boxes for rough travelling should be made of strong metal,japanned. These are a great comfort, as they are proof bothagainst insects and weather, and can be towed with their contentsacross a river.

Travelling is now so generally understood, that it is hardlynecessary to give any instructions for the exploration of wildcountries; but a few hints may be acceptable upon points that,although not absolutely essential, tend much to the comfort ofthe traveller. A couple of large carriage umbrellas with doublelining, with small rings fixed to the extremities of the ribs,and a spike similar to that of a fishing-rod to screw into thehandle, will form an instantaneous shelter from sun or rainduring a halt on the march, as a few strings from the rings willsecure it from the wind, if pegged to the ground. Waterproofcalico sheeting should be taken in large quantities, and atarpaulin to protect the baggage during the night's bivouac. Novulcanised India-rubber should be employed in tropical climates;it rots, and becomes useless. A quart syringe for injecting brineinto fresh meat is very necessary. In hot climates, the centre ofthe joint will decompose before the salt can penetrate to theinterior, but an injecting syringe will thoroughly preserve themeat in a few minutes. A few powerful fox-traps are useful forcatching night-game in countries where there is no large game forthe rifle: also wire is useful for making springs.

Several sticks of Indian-ink are convenient, as sufficient can berubbed up in a few moments to write up the note-book during themarch. All journals and note-books should be of tinted paper,green, as the glare of white paper in the intense sunlight of theopen sky is most trying to the eyes. Burning glasses and flintand steels are very necessary. Lucifer matches are dangerous, asthey may ignite and destroy your baggage in dry weather, andbecome utterly useless in the damp.

A large supply of quicksilver should be taken for the admixturewith lead for hardening bullets, in addition to that required forthe artificial horizon; the effect of this metal is far greaterthan a mixture of tin, as the specific gravity of the bullet isincreased.

Throughout a long experience in wild sports, although I admirethe velocity of conical projectiles, I always have retained myopinion that, in jungle countries, where in the absence of dogsyou require either to disable your game on the spot, or toproduce a distinct blood-track that is easily followed, theold-fashioned two-groove belted ball will bag more game thanmodern bullets; but, on the other hand, the facility of loadinga conical bullet already formed into a cartridge is a greatadvantage. The shock produced by a pointed projectile is nothingcompared to that of the old belted ball, unless it is on theprinciple of Purday's high velocity expanding bullet, which,although perfection for deer-shooting, would be useless againstthick-skinned animals, such as buffalo and rhinoceros. In Africa,the variety of game is such, that it is impossible to tell, whenloading, at what animal the bullet will be fired; therefore, itis necessary to be armed with a rifle suitable for all comers. Mylittle Fletcher was the Enfield bore, No. 24, and, although amost trusty weapon, the bullets generally failed to penetrate theskull of hippopotami, except in places where the bone was thin,such as behind the ear, and beneath the eyes. Although I killedgreat numbers of animals with the Enfield bullet, the success wasdue to tolerably correct shooting, as I generally lost the largerantelopes if wounded by that projectile in any place but theneck, head, or shoulder; the wound did not bleed freely,therefore it was next to impossible to follow up the blood-track;thus a large proportion of wounded animals escaped.

I saw, and shot, thirteen varieties of antelopes while in Africa.Upon arrival at Khartoum, I met Herr von Heuglin, who commandedthe expedition in search of Dr. Vogel; he was an industriousnaturalist, who had been many years in the Soudan and inAbyssinia. We compared notes of all we had seen and done, and hevery kindly supplied me with a list of all the antelopes that hehad been able to trace as existing in Abyssinia and the Soudan;he now included my maarif, which he had never met with, and whichhe agreed was a new species. In the following list, which is anexact copy of that which he had arranged, those marked with anasterisk are species that I have myself shot:--

FOR some days we continued our journey along the banks of theDinder, and as the monotonous river turned towards the junctionwith the Blue Nile, a few miles distant, we made a direct cutacross the flat country, to cross the Rahad and arrive at AbouHarraz on the Blue Nile. We passed numerous villages andextensive plantations of dhurra that were deserted by the Arabs,as the soldiers had arrived to collect the taxes. I measured thedepths of the wells, seventy-five feet and a half, from thesurface to the bottom; the alluvial soil appeared to continue thewhole distance, until the water was discovered resting upon hardsand, full of small particles of mica. During the march over aportion of the country that had been cleared by burning, we meta remarkably curious hunting-party. A number of the common blackand white stork were hunting for grasshoppers and other insects,but mounted upon the back of each stork was a largecopper-coloured flycatcher, which, perched like a rider on hishorse, kept a bright look-out for insects, which from itselevated position it could easily discover upon the ground. Iwatched them for some time: whenever the storks perceived agrasshopper or other winged insect, they chased it on foot, butif they missed their game, the flycatchers darted from theirbacks and flew after the insects like falcons, catching them intheir beaks, and then returning to their steeds to look out foranother opportunity.

On the evening of the 23d May we arrived at the Rahad close toits junction with the Blue Nile: it was still dry, although theDinder was rising. I accounted for this, from the fact of theextreme length of the Rahad's bed, which, from its extraordinarytortuous course, must absorb a vast amount of water in the drysand, before the advancing stream can reach the Nile. Both theRahad and Dinder rise in the mountains of Abyssinia, at no greatdistance from each other, and during the rains they convey alarge volume of water to the Blue Nile. Upon arrival at AbouHarraz, four miles to the north of the Rahad junction, we hadmarched, by careful dead reckoning, two hundred and eighty milesfrom Gallabat. We were now about a hundred and fifteen miles fromKhartoum, and we stood upon the banks of the magnificent BlueNile, the last of the Abyssinian affluents.

About six miles above this spot, on the south bank of the river,is the large town of Wat Medene, which is the principaltrading-place upon the river. Abou Harraz was a miserable spot,and was only important as the turning point upon the road toKatariff from Khartoum. The entire country upon both sides of theriver is one vast unbroken level of rich soil, wlich on the northand east sides is bounded by the Atbara. The entire surface ofthis fertile country might be cultivated with cotton. All that isrequired to insure productiveness, is a regular supply of water,which might be artificially arranged without much difficulty. Thecharacter of all the Abyssinian rivers is to rise and fallsuddenly; thus at one season there is an abundance of water, tobe followed by a scarcity: but in all the fertile provincesadjacent to the Settite and the upper portion of the Atbara, theperiodical rains can be absolutely depended upon, from June tothe middle of September; thus, they are peculiarly adapted forcotton, as a dry season is insured for gathering the crop. As weadvance to the north, and reach Abou Harraz, we leave the rainyzone. When we had left Gallabat, the grass had sprung severalinches, owing to the recent showers; but as we had proceededrapidly towards the north, we had entered upon vast dusty plainsdevoid of a green blade; the rainy season between Abou Harraz andKhartoum consisted of mere occasional storms, that, descendingwith great violence, quickly passed away. Nothing would be moresimple than to form a succession of weirs across the Rahad andDinder, that would enable the entire country to be irrigated atany season of the year, but there is not an engineering work ofany description throughout Upper Egypt, beyond the sageer orwater-wheel of the Nile. Opposite Abou Harraz, the Blue Nile wasa grand river, about five hundred yards in width; the banks uponthe north side were the usual perpendicular cliffs of alluvialsoil, but perfectly bare of trees; while, on the south, the bankswere ornamented with nabbuk bushes and beautiful palms. Thelatter are a peculiar species known by the Arabs as "dolape"(Borassus AEthiopicus): the stem is long, and of considerablethickness, but in about the centre of its length it swells tonearly half its diameter in excess, and after a few feet of extrathickness it continues its original size to the summit, which iscrowned by a handsome crest of leaves shaped like those of thepalmyra. The fruit of this palm is about the size of a cocoa-nut,and when ripe it is of a bright yellow, with an exceedingly richperfume of apricots; it is very stringy, and, although eaten bythe natives, it is beyond the teeth of a European. The Arabs cutit into slices, and boil it with water until they obtain a strongsyrup. Subsequently I found this palm in great quantities nearthe equator.

At Abou Harraz I discharged my camels, and endeavoured to engagea boat to convey us to Khartoum, thus to avoid the dusty anduninteresting ride of upwards of a hundred miles along its flatand melancholy banks; but there was not a vessel of any kind tobe seen upon the river, except one miserable, dirty affair, forwhich the owner demanded fourteen hundred piastres for a passage.We accordingly procured camels, and started, intending to marchas rapidly as possible.

"June 2, 1862.--We packed the camels in the morning and startedthem off to Rufaar. We followed at 2.30 P.M. as the nativesdeclared it was half a day's journey; but we did not arrive until8.30 P.M. having marched about twenty-one miles. The town isconsiderable, and is the head-quarters of our old friend, thegreat Sheik Achmet Abou Sinn; he is now absent, but his son Aliis at home. He received us very kindly, and lodged us in his ownhouse within a large inclosed court, with a well of good water inthe centre. Having read my firman, be paid us the usualcompliments, but he lacked the calm dignity and ease of manner ofhis grand old father. He sat stiffly upon the divan, occasionallyrelieving the monotony of his position by lifting up the cover ofthe cushions, and spitting beneath it. Not having a handkerchief,but only the limited natural advantages of a finger and thumb, acold in the head gave him much trouble, and unpleasant marks uponthe wall exhibited hieroglyphics of recent date, that were illadapted to the reception-room of an Arab chieftain. In about anhour he departed, and shortly after, a dinner of four dishes wasbrought. No. 1 was an Arab Irish stew, but alas! MINUS thepotatoes; it was very good, nevertheless, as the mutton was fat.No. 2 was an Arab stew, with no Irish element; it was very hotwith red pepper, and rather dry. No. 3 was a good quick fry ofsmall pieces of mutton in butter and garlic (very good); and No.4 was an excellent dish of the usual melach, already described.

The wind had within the last few days changed to south, and wehad been subjected to dust storms and sudden whirlwinds similarto those we had experienced at this season in the preceding year,when about to start from Berber. We left Rufaar, and continuedour march along the banks of the Blue Nile, towards Khartoum. Itwas intensely hot; whenever we felt a breeze it was accompaniedwith a suffocating dust, but the sight of the broad river wascool and refreshing. During the dry season the water of the BlueNile is clear, as its broad surface reflects the colour of theblue sky; hence the appellation, but at that time it wasextremely shallow, and in many places it is fordable at a depthof about three feet, which renders it unnavigable for largeboats, which, laden with corn, supply Khartoum from the fertileprovinces of the south. The river had now begun to rise, althoughit was still low, and the water was muddy, as the swellingtorrents of Abyssinia brought impurities into the main channel.It was at this same time last year, when at Berber, that we hadnoticed the sudden increase and equally sudden fall of the Nile,that was influenced by the fluctuations of the Blue Nile, at atime when the Atbara was dry.

From Abou Harraz throughout the route to Khartoum there is noobject of interest; it is the same vast flat, decreasing rapidlyin fertility until it mingles with the desert; and once more, aswe journey to the north, we leave the fertile lands behind, andenter upon sterility. The glare of barren plains and the heat ofthe summer's sun were fearful. Bacheet had a slight coup desoleil; my Tokrooris, whose woolly heads were shaved, and simplycovered with a thin skull-cap, suffered severely, as we marchedthroughout the burning hours of the day. The Arabs were generallyvery inhospitable, as this was the route frequented by all nativemerchants, where strangers were of daily occurrence; but towardsevening we arrived at a village inhabited by a large body ofFakeers, or priests. As we entered, we were met by the principalFaky, who received us with marked attention, and with a charmingcourtesy of manner that quite won our hearts; he expressedhimself as delighted at our arrival, hoped we were not fatiguedby the heat, and trusted that we would rest for a few minutesbefore we departed to the enchanting village "just beyond thosetrees," as he pointed to a clump of green nabbuk on the yellowplain, about a mile distant; there, he assured us, we couldobtain all kinds of supplies, together with shade, and a lovelyview of the river. We were delighted with this very gentlemanlyFaky, and, saying adieu with regret, we hurried on to thepromised village "just beyond those trees."

For fourteen miles we travelled, hungry and tired, beyond thealluring clump of trees, along the wild desert of hot sandwithout a habitation; the only portion of truth in the Faky'sdescription was the "lovely view of the river," that certainlyaccompanied us throughout our journey. We were regularly "sold"by the cunning Faky, who, not wishing to be incommoded by ourparty, had got rid of us in a most gentlemanly manner. At lengthwe arrived at a village, where we had much difficulty inprocuring provisions for ourselves and people.

On the 11th June, having slept at the village of Abou Dome, westarted at sunrise, and at 9 A.M. we reached the bank of theriver, opposite to Khartoum. We were delighted with the view, asthe morning sun shone upon the capital of the Soudan provinces;the grove of date trees shaded the numerous buildings, their darkgreen foliage contrasting exquisitely with the many colouredhouses on the extreme margin of the beautiful river; long linesof vessels and masts gave life to the scene, and we felt thatonce more, after twelve months of utterly wild life, we hadarrived in civilization. We had outridden our camels, thereforewe rode through a shallow arm of the river, and arrived upon anextensive sandbank that had been converted into a garden ofmelons; from this point a large ferry-boat plied regularly to thetown on the south bank. In a few minutes we found ourselves onboard, with our sole remaining horse, Tetel, also the donkeysthat we had purchased in Berber before our expedition, and ourattendants. As we gained the centre of the river, that was about800 yards broad, we were greeted by the snort of three of our oldfriends, the hippopotami, who had been attracted to theneighbourhood by the garden of water-melons. We landed atKhartoum, and, having climbed up the steep bank, we inquired theway to the British Consulate.

The difference between the view of Khartoum at the distance of amile, with the sun shining upon the bright river Nile in theforeground, to the appearance of the town upon close inspection,was about equal to the scenery of a theatre as regarded from theboxes or from the stage; even that painful exposure of an opticalillusion would be trifling compared with the imposture ofKhartoum; the sense of sight had been deceived by distance, butthe sense of smell was outraged by innumerable nuisances, when weset foot within the filthy and miserable town. After windingthrough some narrow dusty lanes, hemmed in by high walls ofsun-baked bricks, that had fallen in gaps in several places,exposing gardens of prickly pears and date palms, we at lengtharrived at a large open place, that, if possible, smelt morestrongly than the landing spot. Around this square, which wasfull of holes where the mud had been excavated for brickmaking,were the better class of houses; this was the Belgravia ofKhartoum. In the centre of a long mud wall, ventilated by certainattempts at frameless windows, guarded by rough wooden bars, weperceived a large archway with closed doors; above this entrancewas a shield, with a device that gladdened my English eyes: therewas the British lion and the unicorn! Not such a lion as I hadbeen accustomed to meet in his native jungles, a yellow cowardlyfellow, that had often slunk away from the very prey from whichI had driven him, but a real red British lion, that, althoughthin and ragged in the unhealthy climate of Khartoum, looked asthough he was pluck to the backbone.

This was the English Consulate. I regarded our lion and unicornfor a few moments with feelings of veneration; and as Mr.Petherick, the consul, who was then absent on the White Nile insearch of Speke and Grant, had very kindly begged me to occupysome rooms in the Consulate, we entered a large courtyard, andwere immediately received by two ostriches that came to meet us;these birds entertained us by an impromptu race as hard as theycould go round the courtyard, as though performing in a circus.When this little divertissement was finished, we turned to theright, and were shown by a servant up a flight of steps into alarge airy room that was to be our residence, which, being wellprotected from the sun, was cool and agreeable. Mr. Petherick hadstarted from Khartoum in the preceding March, and had expected tomeet Speke and Grant in the upper portion of the Nile regions, ontheir road from Zanzibar; but there are insurmountabledifficulties in those wild countries, and his expedition met withunforeseen accidents, that, in spite of the exertions of bothhimself, his very devoted wife, Dr. Murie, and two or threeEuropeans, drove them from their intended path. Shortly after ourarrival at the Consulate, a vessel returned from his party withunfavourable accounts; they had started too late in the season,owing to some difficulties in procuring boats, and the change ofwind to the south, with violent rain, had caused great suffering,and had retarded their progress. This same boat had brought twoleopards that were to be sent to England: these animals were ledinto the courtyard, and, having been secured by chains, theyformed a valuable addition to the menagerie, which consisted oftwo wild boars, two leopards, one hyaena, two ostriches, and acynocephalus or dog-faced baboon, who won my heart by taking anespecial fancy to me, because I had a beard like his master.

Although I take a great interest in wild animals, I confess tohave an objection to sleep in the Zoological Gardens should allthe wild beasts be turned loose. I do not believe that even theSecretary of that learned Society would volunteer to sleep withthe lions; but as the leopards at the Khartoum Consulateconstantly broke their chains, and attacked the dogs and a cow,and as the hyaena occasionally got loose, and the wild boarsdestroyed their mud wall, and nearly killed one of my Tokroorisduring the night, by carving him like a scored leg of pork withtheir tusks, the fact of sleeping in the open air in theverandah, with the simple protection of a mosquito-netting, wasfull of pleasant excitement, and was a piquante entertainmentthat prevented a reaction of ennui after twelve months passed inconstant watchfulness. The shield over the Consulate door, withthe lion and the unicorn, was but a sign of the life within; asthe grand picture outside the showman's wagon may exemplify thenature of his exhibition. I enjoyed myself extremely with thesecreatures, especially when the ostriches invited themselves totea, and swallowed our slices of water-melons and the greaterportion of the bread from the table a few moments before we wereseated. These birds appeared to enjoy life amazingly; one kind offood was as sweet as another; they attacked a basket of whiteporcelain beads that had been returned by Mr. Petherick's men,and swallowed them in great numbers in mistake for dhurra, untilthey were driven off; they were the scavengers of the courtyard,that consumed the dung of the camels and horses, together withall other impurities.

For some months we resided at Khartoum, as it was necessary tomake extensive preparations for the White Nile expedition, and toawait the arrival of the north wind, which would enable us tostart early in December. Although the north and south winds blowalternately for six months, and the former commences in October,it does not extend many degrees southward until the beginning ofDecember. This is a great drawback to White Nile exploration, aswhen near the north side of the equator, the dry season commencesin November, and closes in February; thus, the departure fromKhartoum should take place by a steamer in the latter part ofSeptember; that would enable the traveller to leave Gondokoro,lat. N. 4 degrees 54 minutes, shortly before November; he wouldthen secure three months of favourable weather for an advanceinland.

Having promised Mek Nimmur that I would lay his proposals forpeace before the Governor-General of the Soudan, I called uponMoosa Pasha at the public divan, and delivered the message; buthe would not listen to any intercession, as he assured me thatMek Nimmur was incorrigible, and there would be no real peaceuntil his death, which would be very speedy should he chance tofall into his hands. He expressed great surprise at our havingescaped from his territory, and he declared his intention ofattacking him after he should have given the Abyssinians alesson, for whom he was preparing an expedition in reply to aninsolent letter that he had received from King Theodore. The Kingof Abyssinia had written to him upon a question of frontier. Thesubstance of the document was a declaration that the Egyptianshad no right to Khartoum, and that the natural boundary ofAbyssinia was the junction of the Blue and White Niles as farnorth as Shendy (Mek Nimmur's original country); and from thatpoint, in a direct line, to the Atbara; but that, as the desertafforded no landmark, he should send his people to dig a ditchfrom the Nile to the Atbara, and he requested that the Egyptianswould keep upon the north border. Moosa Pasha declared that theking was mad, and that, were it not for the protection given toAbyssinia by the English, the Egyptians would have eaten it uplong ago, but that the Christian powers would certainly interfereshould they attempt to annex the country.

The Egyptians seldom had less than twenty thousand troops in theSoudan provinces; the principal stations were Khartoum, Cassala,and Dongola. Cassala was close to the Abyssinian frontier, andwithin from fifteen to twenty days' march of Souakim, on the RedSea, to which reinforcements could be despatched in five daysfrom Cairo. Khartoum had the advantage of the Blue Nile, that wasnavigable for steamers and sailing vessels as far south asFazogle, from which spot, as well as from Gallabat, Abyssiniacould be invaded; while swarms of Arabs, including the celebratedHamrans, the Beni Amer, Hallongas, Hadendowas, Shookeriahs, andDabainas, could be slipped like greyhounds across the frontier.Abyssinia is entirely at the mercy of Egypt.

Moosa Pasha subsequently started with several thousand men todrive the Abyssinians from Gallabat, which position they hadoccupied in force with the avowed intention of marching uponKhartoum; but upon the approach of the Egyptians they fell backrapidly across the mountains, without a sign of showing fight.The Egyptians would not follow them, as they feared theintervention of the European powers.

Upon our first arrival in Khartoum, from 11th June until early inOctober, the heat was very oppressive, the thermometer seldombelow 95 degrees Fahr. in the shade, and frequently 100 degrees,while the nights were 82 degrees Fahr. In the winter, thetemperature was agreeable, the shade 80 degrees, the night 62degrees Fahr. But the chilliness of the north wind wasexceedingly dangerous, as the sudden gusts checked theperspiration, and produced various maladies, more especiallyfever. I had been extremely fortunate, as, although exposed tohard work for more than a year in the burning sun, I hadremarkably good health, as had my wife likewise, with theexception of one severe attack while at Sofi. Throughout thecountries we had visited, the temperature was high, averagingabout 90 degrees in the shade from May until the end ofSeptember; but the nights were generally about 70 degrees, withthe exception of the winter months, from November until February,when the thermometer generally fell to 85 degrees Fahr. in theday, and sometimes as low as 58 degrees at between 2 and 5 A.M.

I shall not repeat a minute description of Khartoum that hasalready been given in the "Albert N'yanza;" it is a wretchedlyunhealthy town, containing about thirty thousand inhabitants,exclusive of troops. In spite of its unhealthiness and lowsituation, on a level with the river at the junction of the Blueand White Niles, it is the general emporium for the trade of theSoudan, from which the productions of the country are transportedto Lower Egypt, i.e. ivory, hides, senna, gum arabic, andbees'-wax. During my experience of Khartoum it was the hotbed ofthe slave-trade. It will be remarked that the exports from theSoudan are all natural productions. There is nothing to exhibitthe industry or capacity of the natives; the ivory is the produceof violence and robbery; the hides are the simple sun-dried skinsof oxen; the senna grows wild upon the desert; the gum arabicexudes spontaneously from the bushes of the jungle; and thebees'-wax is the produce of the only industrious creatures inthat detestable country.

When we regard the general aspect of the Soudan, it is extremewretchedness; the rainfall is uncertain and scanty, thus thecountry is a desert, dependent entirely upon irrigation. Althoughcultivation is simply impossible without a supply of water, oneof the most onerous taxes is that upon the sageer or water-wheel,with which the fields are irrigated on the borders of the Nile.It would appear natural that, instead of a tax, a premium shouldbe offered for the erection of such means of irrigation, whichwould increase the revenue by extending cultivation, the produceof which might bear an impost. With all the talent and industryof the native Egyptians, who must naturally depend upon thewaters of the Nile for their existence, it is extraordinary thatfor thousands of years they have adhered to their original simpleform of mechanical irrigation, without improvement.

If any one will take the trouble to watch the action of thesageer or water-wheel, it must strike him as a most puny effortto obtain a great result, that would at once suggest an extensionof the principle. The sageer is merely a wheel of about twentyfeet diameter, which is furnished with numerous earthenware jarsupon its exterior circumference, that upon revolving perform theaction of a dredger, but draw to the surface water instead ofmud. The wheel, being turned by oxen, delivers the water into atrough which passes into a reservoir, roughly fashioned withclay, from which, small channels of about ten inches in widthradiate through the plantation. The fields, divided into squareslike a chess-board, are thus irrigated by a succession of minuteaqueducts. The root of this principle is the reservoir. A certainsteady volume of water is required, from which the arteries shallflow throughout a large area of dry ground; thus, the reservoirinsures a regular supply to each separate channel.

In any civilized country, the existence of which depended uponthe artificial supply of water in the absence of rain, the firstengineering principle would suggest a saving of labour inirrigation: that, instead of raising the water in smallquantities into reservoirs, the river should raise its own watersto the required level.

Having visited every tributary of the Nile during theexplorations of nearly five years, I have been struck with theextraordinary fact that, although an enormous amount of wealth isconveyed to Egypt by the annual inundations of the river, theforce of the stream is entirely uncontrolled. From timeimmemorial, the rise of the Nile has been watched with intenseinterest at the usual season, but no attempt has been made toinsure a supply of water to Egypt during all seasons.

The mystery of the Nile has been dispelled; we have proved thatthe equatorial lakes supply the main stream, but that theinundations are caused by the sudden rush of waters from thetorrents of Abyssinia in July, August, and September; and thatthe soil washed down by the floods of the Atbara is at thepresent moment silting up the mouths of the Nile, and thusslowly, but steadily, forming a delta beneath the waters of theMediterranean, on the same principle that created the fertileDelta of Egypt. Both the water and the mud of the Nile haveduties to perform,--the water to irrigate; the deposit tofertilize; but these duties are not regularly performed:sometimes the rush of the inundation is overwhelming, at othersit is insufficient; while at all times an immense proportion ofthe fertilizing mud is not only wasted by a deposit beneath thesea, but navigation is impeded by the silt. The Nile is apowerful horse without harness, but, with a bridle in its mouth,the fertility of Egypt might be increased to a vast extent.

As the supply of water raised by the sageer is received in areservoir, from which the irrigating channels radiate through theplantations, so should great reservoirs be formed throughout thevarying levels of Egypt, from Khartoum to the Mediterranean,comprising a distance of sixteen degrees of latitude, with a fallof fifteen hundred feet. The advantage of this great differencein altitude between the Nile in latitude 15 degrees 30 minutesand the sea, would enable any amount of irrigation, by theestablishment of a series of dams or weirs across the Nile, thatwould raise its level to the required degree, at certain points,from which the water would be led by canals into naturaldepressions; these would form reservoirs, from which the watermight be led upon a vast scale, in a similar manner to theinsignificant mud basins that at the present day form thereservoirs for the feeble water-wheels. The increase of theriver's level would depend upon the height of the dams; but, asstone is plentiful throughout the Nile, the engineeringdifficulties would be trifling.

Mehemet Ali Pasha acknowledged the principle, by the erection ofthe barrage between Cairo and Alexandria, which, by simplyraising the level of the river, enabled the people to extendtheir channels for irrigation; but this was the crude idea, thathas not been carried out upon a scale commensurate with therequirements of Egypt. The ancient Egyptians made use of the lakeMareotis as a reservoir for the Nile waters for the irrigation ofa large extent of Lower Egypt, by taking advantage of a high Nileto secure a supply for the remainder of the year; but, great aswere the works of those industrious people, they appear to haveignored the first principle of irrigation, by neglecting to raisethe level of the river.

Egypt remains in the same position that Nature originallyallotted to her; the life-giving stream that flows through athousand miles of burning sands suddenly rises in July, andfloods the Delta which it has formed by a deposit, during perhapshundreds of thousands of inundations; and it wastes asuperabundance of fertilizing mud in the waters of theMediterranean. As Nature has thus formed, and is still forming adelta, why should not Science create a delta, with the powerfulmeans at our disposal? Why should not the mud of the Nile thatnow silts up the Mediterranean be directed to the barren but vastarea of deserts, that by such a deposit would become a fertileportion of Egypt? This work might be accomplished by simplemeans: the waters of the Nile, that now rush impetuously atcertain seasons with overwhelming violence, while at otherseasons they are exhausted, might be so controlled that theyshould never be in excess, neither would they be reduced to aminimum in the dry season; but the enormous volume of waterheavily charged with soil, that now rushes uselessly into thesea, might be led throughout the deserts of Nubia and Libya, totransform them into cotton fields that would render Englandindependent of America. There is no fiction in this idea; it ismerely the simple and commonplace fact, that with a fall offifteen hundred feet in a thousand miles, with a river thatsupplies an unlimited quantity of water and mud at a particularseason, a supply could be afforded to a prodigious area, thatwould be fertilized not only by irrigation, but by the annualdeposit of soil from the water, allowed to remain upon thesurface. This suggestion might be carried out by gradations; thegreat work might be commenced by a single dam above the firstcataract at Assouan, at a spot where the river is walled in bygranite hills; at that place, the water could be raised to anexceedingly high level, that would command an immense tract ofcountry. As the system became developed, similar dams might beconstructed at convenient intervals that would not only bringinto cultivation the neighbouring deserts, but would facilitatethe navigation of the river, that is now impeded, and frequentlyclosed, by the numerous cataracts. By raising the level of theNile sixty feet at every dam, the cataracts would no longerexist, as the rocks which at present form the obstructions wouldbe buried in the depths of the river. At the positions of theseveral dams, sluice gates and canals would conduct the shippingeither up or down the stream. Were this principle carried out asfar as the last cataracts, near Khartoum, the Soudan would nolonger remain a desert; the Nile would become not only thecultivator of those immense tracts that are now utterlyworthless, but it would be the navigable channel of Egypt for theextraordinary distance of twenty-seven degrees oflatitude--direct from the Mediterranean to Gondokoro, N. lat. 4degrees 54 minutes.

The benefits, not only to Egypt, but to civilization, would beincalculable; those remote countries in the interior of Africaare so difficult of access, that, although we cling to the hopethat at some future time the inhabitants may become enlightened,it will be simply impossible to alter their present condition,unless we change the natural conditions under which they exist.From a combination of adverse circumstances, they are excludedfrom the civilized world: the geographical position of thosedesert-locked and remote countries shuts them out from personalcommunication with strangers: the hardy explorer and themissionary creep through the difficulties of distance in theironward paths, but seldom return: the European merchant is rarelyseen, and trade resolves itself into robbery and piracy upon theWhite Nile, and other countries, where distance and difficulty ofaccess have excluded all laws and political surveillance.Nevertheless, throughout that desert, and neglected wilderness,the Nile has flowed for ages, and the people upon its banks areas wild and uncivilized at the present day as they were when thePyramids were raised in Lower Egypt. The Nile is a blessing onlyhalf appreciated; the time will arrive when people will look inamazement upon a mighty Egypt, whose waving crops shall extend,far beyond the horizon, upon those sandy and thirsty desertswhere only the camel can contend with exhausted nature. Men willlook down from some lofty point upon a network of canals andreservoirs, spreading throughout a land teeming with fertility,and wonder how it was that, for so many ages, the majesty of theNile had been concealed. Not only the sources of that wonderfulriver had been a mystery from the earliest history of the world,but the resources and the power of the mighty Nile are stillmysterious and misunderstood.

In all rainless countries, artificial irrigation is the first lawof nature, it is self-preservation; but, even in countries wherethe rainfall can be depended upon with tolerable certainty,irrigation should never be neglected; one dry season in atropical country may produce a famine, the results of which maybe terrible, as instanced lately by the unfortunate calamity inOrissa. The remains of the beautiful system of artificialirrigation that was employed by the ancients in Ceylon, attestthe degree of civilization to which they had attained; in thatisland the waters of various rivers were conducted into valleysthat were converted into lakes, by dams of solid masonry thatclosed the extremity, from which the water was conducted byartificial channels throughout the land. In those days, Ceylonwas the most fertile country of the East; her power equalled herprosperity; vast cities teeming with a dense population stoodupon the borders of the great reservoirs, and the people revelledin wealth and plenty. The dams were destroyed in civil warfare;the wonderful works of irrigation shared in the destruction; thecountry dried up; famine swallowed up the population; and thegrandeur and prosperity of that extraordinary country collapsedand withered in the scorching sun, when the supply of water waswithdrawn.

At the present moment, ten thousand square miles lie desolate inthorny jungles, where formerly a sea of waving rice-crops floatedon the surface; the people are dead, the glory is departed. Thisglory had been the fruit of irrigation. All this prosperity mightbe restored: but in Egypt there has been no annihilation of apeople, and the Nile invites a renewal of the system formerlyadopted in Ceylon; there is an industrious population crowdedupon a limited space of fertile soil, and yearning for anincrease of surface. At the commencement of this work, we saw theEgyptians boating the earth from the crumbling ruins, andtransporting it with arduous labour to spread upon the barrensandbanks of the Nile, left by the retreating river; they werestriving for every foot of land thus offered by the exhaustedwaters, and turning into gardens what in other countries wouldhave been unworthy of cultivation. Were a system of irrigationestablished upon the principle that I have proposed, theadvantages would be enormous. The silt deposited in theMediterranean, that now chokes the mouths of the Nile, and blocksup harbours, would be precipitated upon the broad area ofnewly-irrigated lands, and by the time that the water arrived atthe sea, it would have been filtered in its passage, and havebecome incapable of forming a fresh deposit. The great difficultyof the Suez canal will be the silting up of the entrance by theNile; this would be prevented were the mud deposited in the uppercountry.

During the civil war in America, Egypt proved her capabilities byproducing a large amount of cotton of most excellent quality,that assisted us materially in the great dearth of that article;but, although large fortunes were realized by the extension ofthis branch of agriculture, the Egyptians suffered considerablyin consequence. The area of fertile soil was too limited, and, asan unusual surface was devoted to the growth of cotton, there wasa deficiency in the production of corn; and Egypt, instead ofexporting as heretofore, was forced to import large quantities ofgrain. Were the area of Egypt increased to a vast extent by theproposed system of irrigation, there would be space sufficientfor both grain and cotton to any amount required. The desertsoil, that is now utterly worthless, would become of great value;and the taxes upon the increased produce would not only cover thefirst outlay of the irrigation works, but would increase therevenue in the ratio proportionate to the increased surface offertility. A dam across the Atbara would irrigate the entirecountry from Gozerajup to Berber, a distance of upwards of 200miles; and the same system upon the Nile would carry the watersthroughout the deserts between Khartoum and Dongola, and fromthence to Lower Egypt. The Nubian desert, from Korosko to AbouHamed, would become a garden, the whole of that sterile countryinclosed within the great western bend of the Nile towardsDongola would be embraced in the system of irrigation, and thebarren sands that now give birth to the bitter melon of thedesert (Cucumis colocynthis), would bring forth the water-melon,and heavy crops of grain.* The great Sahara is desert, simplybecause it receives no rainfall: give it only water, and the sandwill combine with the richer soil beneath, and become productive.England would become a desert, could it be deprived of rain forthree or four years; the vegetation would wither and be carriedaway by the wind, together with the lighter and more friableportions of the soil, which, reduced to dust, would leave thecoarser and more sandy particles exposed upon the surface; butthe renewal of rain would revivify the country. The deserts ofEgypt have never known rain, except in the form of an unexpectedshower, that has passed away as suddenly as it arrived; even thatslight blessing awakens ever-ready Nature, and green thingsappear upon the yellow surface of the ground, that cause thetraveller to wonder how their seeds could germinate after theexposure for so many months in the burning sand. Give water tothese thirsty deserts, and they will reply with gratitude.

* The great deserts of Northern Africa, to about the 170 N. lat., are supposed to have formed the bottom of the Mediterranean, but to have been upheaved to their present level. The volcanic bombs discovered in the Nubian Desert suggest, by their spherical form, that the molten lava ejected by active volcanoes had fallen from a great height into water, that had rapidly cooled them, in the same manner that lead shot is manufactured at the present day. It is therefore highly probable that the extinct craters now in existence in the Nubian Desert were active at a period when they formed volcanic islands in a sea--similar to Stromboli, &c. &c.

This is the way to civilize a country: the engineer will alterthe hard conditions of nature, that have rendered man as barrenof good works as the sterile soil upon which he lives. Let manhave hope; improve the present, that his mind may look forward toa future; give him a horse that will answer to the spur, if he isto run in the race of life; give him a soil that will yield andtempt him to industry; give him the means of communication withhis fellow-men, that he may see his own inferiority bycomparison; provide channels for the transport of his produce,and for the receipt of foreign manufactures, that will engendercommerce: and then, when he has advanced so far in the scale ofhumanity, you may endeavour to teach him the principles ofChristianity. Then, and not till then, can we hope for moralprogress. We must begin with the development of the physicalcapabilities of a country before we can expect from itsinhabitants sufficient mental vigour to receive and understandthe truths of our religion. I have met with many Christianmissionaries, of various and conflicting creeds, who havefruitlessly sown the seed of Christianity upon the barren soil ofAfrica; but their labours were ill-timed, they were too early inthe field, the soil is unprepared; the missionary, howeverearnest, must wait until there be some foundation for asuperstructure. Raise the level of the waters, and change thecharacter of the surrounding deserts: this will also raise theintellectual condition of the inhabitants by an improvement inthe natural conditions of their country. . . . . . .

The first portion of our task was completed. We had visited allthe Nile tributaries of Abyssinia, including the great Blue Nilethat had been traced to its source by Bruce. The difficult taskstill lay before us--to penetrate the unknown regions in thedistant south, to discover the White Nile source.* Speke andGrant were on their road from Zanzibar, cutting their way uponuntrodden ground towards Gondokoro. Petherick's expedition toassist them had met with misfortune, and we trusted to be able toreach the equator, and perhaps to meet our Zanzibar explorerssomewhere about the sources of the Nile. Although we had workedhard throughout all seasons, over an immense extent of country,we were both strong and well, and the rest of some months atKhartoum had only served to inspire us with new vigour for thecommencement of the work before us. By the 17th December, 1862,our preparations were completed; three vessels were laden withlarge quantities of stores--400 bushels of corn, twenty-ninetransport animals, including camels, donkeys, and horses (amongthe latter was my old hunter Tetel). Ninety-six souls formed mywhole party, including forty well-armed men, with Johann Schmidtand Richarn. On the 18th December we sailed from Khartoum uponthe White Nile towards its unknown sources, and bade farewell tothe last vestige of law, government, and civilization. I find inmy journal, the last words written at our departure upon thisuncertain task, "God grant us success; if He guides, I have nofear."

* The account of the White Nile voyage, with the happy meeting of captains Speke and Grant, and the subsequent discovery of the "Albert N'yanza," has been already given in the work of that title.